Despard Switches & Outlets

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Shop for stacked Despard electrical light switch devices - single pole switch, 3 way switch, power outlet, or pilot light device, plus vertical or horizontal mounting straps required for installation. Despard switches flip on and off from left to right and were made by Leviton, Bryant, Sierra, Pass & Seymour and other manufacturers. Now you can find replacement Despard light switches, power outlets, and pilot lights for updating these old electrical systems. Please note, some vintage low voltage systems used similar switches and straps, so be sure to see Sierra Despard Low Voltage Lighting if your home has this type of electrical wiring.

Despard Switch Advantages

Interchangeable Despard electrical switches and mounting straps allow for flexibility in tight locations. These stacked or tandem devices fit standard electrical boxes and can be arranged in one, two and three device configurations in a single gang - whether to use with standard switchplates, narrow wallplates, or tall skinny tandem switch plates.

Note the difference between the despard toggle switches for sale above and horizontal toggle switches. While similar in the way they look, these 2 types of sideways toggles fit different wall plates.

Below, you can see that the base around a despard toggle switch is smaller than it is on a horizontal toggle switch. At its widest point, the despard base measures under 1 inch, while the horizontal toggle base exceeds 1 inch at its widest measurement.

Another difference is that despard style switches are sold individually and require mounting straps to hold them into place. Horizontal toggles, on the other hand, come as a complete unit with 2 switches and screw directly into your electrical box without any additional mounting hardware.

These specialized bakelite electrical receptacles had a pair of blade slots where one was slanted or rotated in relation to the other in order to require a special plug for distinguishing the main and auxiliary contacts. These antique receptacles were often paired with pilot lights and used for electric irons or toasters for indicating they were in use. Sometimes you'll find versions of these unusual sockets with the angled slot marked GROUND and the straight slot ANTENNA; these were likely used for vintage radios. For more information see this original patent by Victor R Despard for this speciatly outlet.